Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-02-11
Mouse River Cattle Raising.

For several years more or less has
| been known of the Mouse River aud
the region which 1t waters. All sorts
of stories, favorable or otherwise,
have been circulated about its gener-
al features. The Building, the past
summer, of new line of railway,
that of the ST. Paul, Minneapolis ~
Manitoba, through its center, has
rendered il easily accessible to the
country, and opened up a great ex-
tent Of land, which is adapted in
every way to stock raising and mix
ed farming. The Mouse River is a
curious stream, and with its surroun-
ding country, is well calculated to
arouse interest. Rising way up in
British America, ii crosses the Inter
national Boundary, and after cours-
ing through North Dakota, forming
an immense ox-bow, perhaps 100
miles long and 70 wide, it re-enters
the Queens dominions.
Heavy timber, such as oak, ash, as
pen, box-elder, and other varieties,
line its banks. Below the post-oflice
of Willard, in McHenry County, its
valley is vide, and often not well de-
fined. Above that point the encom-
passing hills become much higher.
and the stream flows from $50 to 200
feet below the general surface of the
country. The quality of the land
will average we'll with that of any
part of North Dakota, or of the coun-
try. Perhaps one-twentieth of the
region is occupied by sand hills, so
called, covered with grass and timber
and of the greatest value for winter
range protection for the thousands of
head of cattle and horses which al
ready Craze among them. 1t is but
four years since the country was first
known TO possess superior advantages
for stock raising, and that interest
has now developed so rapidly that
recent estimate places the number of
cattle on ito ranges at not less than
10000 head, and of horses at 5000
head, as well as numbers of swine
and sheep.
There are a few ranchmen conduc-
Ting operations on large scale, but
the majority are small farmers hav-
ing herds of from 20 to $50 head.
These are located along the river
where the stock has heretofore been
fed and ranged without other protec-
ton than the woods during the VIM
ter months. Now ii is found that the
sand hills are better than the river
timber, and many cattle will range
during winter in the valleys between
their timbered slopes almost without
feed from the stack. The hills, with
their heavy coat of grass, thick rush
beds and sheltered groves, offer a
paradise for stock raising for the
small farmer. Tracts Unnatural hay
meadow are frequent all through this
region, and although provision is al
ways made for winter feed, II is more
precautionary than anything else, for,
except when the snow is unusually
heavy, which rarely happens, stock
Craze more or less on the open until
the last of February orin early March.
The climate can be called the chief
of tho country for stock
raising, the summers being of about
the temperature Of the most noted |
stock raising regions of the Old
World, and the winters cold, sunny |
and bright. 1t is this cold, combined |
with the absence of high humidity, |
that gives the Mouse River country
such advantages for stock raising
over more humid and warmer local
tiles, for the natural habitat ofall our
useful domestic animals, the horse,
OK and sheep, is in region having
precisely the same climate as this
the steppes and plains of Central
Asia, north of latitude AZ degrees
Probably more cattle range on these
unsheltered plains to-day than in
America. Atkinson in his travels.
mentions the tens of thousands of
head grazing around the steppes
which surround Lake Daikal, in lati- |
tude so. The produce of these herds
at maturity are driven to that great
Siberian cattle mardet, Ekaterin.
beurg, where hundreds of thousands
are slaughtered annually. Cattle
raising has passed the experimental
stage in the Mouse River country,
and for that matter, all through North
Dakota. 1t will seem almost incredi-
BILE to stockmen in the "corn belt" to
be told that cattle and horses are
grown and fauened on the Mouse
River on hay alone, but such is the
fact. Stock raisers "down East" and
IN the "corn belt" who can't accom-
plish the same results, must remem-
be" that their climate Is too warm
and moist for cattle TO derive the
same benefit from given amotnt of
feed, a warm climate being naturally
for.healthy and natural
and the moist air peculiar
TO the Southern and Eastern States,
to rapid radiation of animal
heat. making the "chilly" sensations,
which affect animals as well as man,
and preventing the best results from
being obtained. At any rate, the
surplus from the Mouse River ranges
now furnish nearly all of North Da-
sota with beef, and the DEVILS Lake
butchers say that the cut from a
Mouse River 3-year-o!d, fed altogeth-
Or on hay, is the best quality to be
had.-St. Paul Pioneer Press.